How to write a homepage that actually converts

Most homepages are written from the inside out — what the business wants to say about itself. Good homepages are written from the outside in — what a stranger needs to know, in the order they need it.

Here's the structure, and why each block is where it is.

Block 1: What you do, immediately

The top of the page answers one question: am I in the right place?

You need a headline that states the outcome you deliver, a sentence that adds the specifics, and one obvious action. That's it.

Weak: "Welcome to Precision Contracting — Excellence Since 1998" Strong: "Commercial roofing that stops the leak and passes inspection. Kansas City and surrounding counties."

The second one tells a visitor whether to keep reading. The first makes them work it out.

Block 2: The problem you solve

Before someone cares what you sell, they need to feel that you understand their situation.

Two or three sentences naming the actual problem, in the words your customers use on the phone. Not "suboptimal roofing solutions" — "the same patch failing every spring."

When someone reads their own problem described accurately, they assume you can solve it. That assumption does more work than any list of credentials.

Block 3: What you actually offer

Now they'll read the list. Three to six services, each with a plain name and one line explaining it.

Resist the urge to include everything you're capable of. A shorter list reads as focus; a long one reads as desperation.

Block 4: Why you and not the alternative

This is the block most sites skip, and it's the one that closes.

Not "quality, integrity, service" — every competitor claims those, which makes them worth nothing. Say the specific thing that's true of you and awkward for others to copy. You answer the phone yourself. You quote fixed prices. You've done four hundred of exactly this job. You'll tell them when they don't need the work.

If a competitor could paste your differentiator onto their site unchanged, it isn't one.

Block 5: Proof

People believe evidence more than claims. In descending order of persuasiveness: specific results with numbers, named testimonials, review scores, project photos, logos.

Use what you genuinely have. Two real testimonials with full names beat ten anonymous ones, and inventing proof is both obvious and the fastest way to destroy trust permanently.

Block 6: Ask, clearly

End by asking for the business, with the friction stated. "Call for a free estimate — usually same day" beats "Contact us."

Tell them what happens next. People hesitate because they don't know what they're committing to. "We'll call you back within the hour to talk through it, no obligation" removes the hesitation.

Rules that apply throughout

One primary action. Repeat the same call to action rather than offering competing ones.

Write for a phone. Most visitors are on mobile. Short paragraphs, real headings, generous spacing.

Cut every sentence that isn't working. Homepages get long because nobody wants to delete their own writing. Read it back and remove anything a stranger wouldn't miss.

Put contact details where they're visible. Header, footer, and at least once in the body. Tappable.

The test

Show it to someone who doesn't know your business. Give them five seconds, then take it away and ask what you do and who for.

If they can't answer, the design doesn't matter yet.